Broken Wings
by Fae Diamonde
Summary: This is 1 of 2 sequels to Broken Allies. This follows how Dick reacts to his experience with the joker. It really focuses on the relationship between Dick and Bruce. T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

So Dick's one shot turned into a double feature. Wally's will be up in about a day or 2. I'm not as familiar with the Flash boys as I am with the Bat crew so I'm going to take some time to figure out how he's going to react. Anyway I hope you enjoy because this took me a little longer than I expected but I'm happy with how it turned out.

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><p>He stared at himself in the mirror. The carved into his chest sickened him. "I suppose if it bothers me that much we could find a way to cover it." He knew he'd never do it. This way he never forgot how close he came to not only letting his best friend die but dying himself.<p>

His skin was still deathly pale and dark rings circled his eyes, he was not sleeping well. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the life drain from Wally's eyes. He couldn't get the laughter out of his head and the J sneering at him in his reflection only served to patronize him.

Bruce was trying his hardest. He was keeping Dick under a strict training regime designed specifically to get him back into fighting shape without pushing him too far. Unfortunately he wasn't sure how to handle Dick's fragile emotional and mental state.

Every night, every single night since Dick was brought home he's woken up in the middle of the night screaming. He couldn't take it anymore. He wasn't sure how much to let Dick deal with on his own anymore. The screaming started; Bruce rushed into the room and grabbed him into a tight hug whispering soothing words into his ear. The struggling stopped and his eyes opened. "Dad?"

"Sh Dick everything's alright." Had he just called him dad? Thinking he was dreaming of his parents Bruce didn't push the subject. Dick settled back into his bed and his eyes started fluttering closed. Bruce tucked the covers around him and returned to his room.

What was he supposed to do with him? He wasn't sure how to help Dick. Maybe he should consider therapy? No, there's no one on the planet who would understand what Dick was going through.

His bedroom door creaked open. He could hear Dick's labored breathing from over exerting himself, he was walking without his crutches again. "Bruce?"

"Yeah Dick?" He turned and found something he wasn't expecting, Dick looked nervous.

"Are you mad at me for calling you dad?"

"Why would I be mad?" He crawled out of bed and scooped Dick up putting him gently on his bed. "I wasn't sure if you were talking to me or not."

Dick nodded. "Honestly Dick I was kind of happy."

"What?"

"I never want to replace your father Dick but I would be honored to be your dad. I just didn't want to push anything like that on you."

Tears started pricking at the corners of his eyes, "Does calling you dad mean they aren't my parents anymore?" He asked. It was different seeing Dick like this. Sometimes he forgot that he was only thirteen years old and still a child.

"No Dick, your parents will always be your parents." Bruce said putting his arm around Dick's shoulders sitting next to him on the bed.

"I'm tired!" Dick finally confessed. "Every time I close my eyes I see them all dying. I see you dying. I can't take it anymore!" Tears started trailing down his face. "When I look in the mirror I see what he can do, what he did do! When I sleep I go through it all over again! Bruce help me!"

He wasn't exactly sure how to help Dick but he pulled him further onto his bed and tucked him in then climbed in beside him, "If it helps I'm right here. Batman will always be there for you and so will I."

He nodded wiping the tears from his face. He shifted closer to Bruce and hugged his arm close to him. "G'night...dad."

Bruce smiled and whispered a goodnight in return. Dick did not wake up one more time that night screaming.

It was awkward between them for a few days but every night Dick would make his way to Bruce's room to seek comfort from his dad. After a few nights as long as Bruce was the one tucking him in and waiting till he was asleep he could sleep through the night and a few days after that Bruce was only tucking him in to spend time with his son.

It took longer for his scars to heal but Bruce and Batman were with him until he was ready. It took months before Dick was ready to become Robin again and even then he wouldn't stray far from Batman. His confidence was shot and he still wasn't entirely back to fighting shape.

Bruce was a patient man and he would do whatever was necessary to help his son. Together they would get through this.


	2. Chapter 2

Dick watched Bruce closely. It had been months since Jokers attack and while Batman was pushing him just as hard in his training he wasn't asking much more than that from him. He hadn't returned to Young Justice since. He hadn't talked to Wally for more than the odd fleeting phone call either.

His confidence was shot he was fully aware of it, he just wasn't sure how to fix it. "Why are you watching me Dick?"

"I uh- I had something to ask you."

"Mhm?" He asked motioning for him to sit.

"How uh, did you ever...I don't know how to word it just be patient kay?" Bruce nodded. "Did you ever have something happen to you and no matter how much time you let go by it just sort of stuck with you?"

"Is this about your confidence?"

How did he know? Dick thought he'd done a good job hiding that from him.

"I know you Dick," He said, "You've been...staying close."

"You mean clingy?"

"No, you just haven't been wondering too far lately. I understand, I really do, but there's nothing I can do to help you. This is the one thing I can't do with you. But I can stand back and lend you my support when you need it."

That didn't answer his questions at all. He was on his own. It was hard to shake the feeling that Bruce was teaching him how to ride a bike and let go of the back. He smiled and for the first time, without being in some sort of peril or absolutely relieved that the other was alive, wrapped his arms around Bruce's neck. "Thanks for being there, dad." It was kind of hard and awkward to say but Bruce hugged him back and that made it all worth it.

Now that he was aware of his lack of confidence and was reassured that Batman and Bruce would always be there when he needed them he decided to take the first step on his own and changed into his Robin gear.

It wasn't as big a step as he would have hoped but as he activated the Zeta-Beam and stepped into it he was glad he decided to take a small step first. He was met with a mild panic attack that he was too far from his savvier for a few minutes but it quickly wore off when he was greeted by his friends.

"Hey man." A voice called to him meekly, he turned to see Kid Flash standing off to the side seeming out of place. They knuckle bumped and were about to go and speak on their own when Black Canary entered for training. They shrugged and followed the team.

They were training in the simulation room and because Batman programmed it there were more Gotham villains than any other. And because Robin and Kid Flash were so chocked full of luck it turned from a poison Ivy simulation into a Joker simulation.

They heard his laughter before they found any other sign of him. "Where'd Ivy go?" KF asked trying not to panic. Robin saw the look on his face and knew that he was mirroring it. This was the ultimate test and they weren't ready for it yet.

They shuffled closer together discreetly. "You ok?" They both asked.

Dick didn't honestly know how he felt. He'd been captured by the joker before but this time was different. He touched the lines of the scar on his chest feeling little twangs of panic but they were all squashed down when he felt KF shivering next to him.

The Joker stepped out of the shadows holding his signature weapon, a shiny new crow bar. Dick started to lose it. He was starting the shake but again forced the panic down. He'd been doing this since he was nine; he's had plenty of practice. Something in him snapped but not in the way he thought it would. He launched himself at the Joker snatching the crow bar from him and began bashing it against him. The laughter didn't stop and neither did Robin.

The program stopped with Robin mid swing and he toppled to the ground rolling back onto his feet.

They were all staring. He stood there panting staring back wide eyed. Had he just done that? He needed to leave, needed to get away from their judgement. He thought he was going to puke.

Black Canary must have called ahead because Bruce was sitting waiting for him when he returned to the batcave.

"Bruce." He said nodding.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"

That stopped him in his tracks. "I got my confidence back?" He suggested.

"If that had really been him would you have stopped or would someone have had to stop you?"

Dick shrugged removing his mask. "Dick that isn't an answer."

"I don't know what happened Bruce. We were fighting Ivy when she suddenly disappeared and then the laughter started. I still have nightmares about that laugh."

"I know you do."

Dick felt guilty; he thought he'd stopped screaming in his sleep.

"You have stopped." He had no idea how Bruce could always read his thoughts but he nodded.

"I just snapped. I saw," He took a deep breath, "I saw the crowbar and just snapped. It won't happen again."

Bruce didn't let him return to Mount Justice after that. He kept him close at hand watching carefully for the moment he would snap.

The final test of Robin's sanity occurred. Joker broke out of Arkham, he and Batman were hot on his trail. He seemed reluctant at first to bring Robin along but they'd been doing fine so far.

The laughter hit him. He pushed the panic down and focused on his determination to prove he was worthy to be Batman's partner. He felt the shift in himself, he felt the moment he put the kidnapping behind him and he was overjoyed.

He let loose one of his signature laughs. Everything was going to be ok.

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><p>I hope you enjoyed it. Look forward to writing Wally's story. I just wanted to thank every person who showed their support to me. It's really been helping me through my writers block and giving me some extra confidence. Thank you.<p> 


	3. Epilogue

Ok so this is just a little epilogue for those who wanted to know how it ended between everyone but weren't really into reading about Wally. Basically it's the last little bit of the last chapter of Broken Hearts from Dick's perspective.

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><p>Even though Dick was well his way down the road of recovery he hadn't returned back to the team since the incident in the simulation room. He hadn't bothered contacting Wally either, what was the point if Wally didn't want to speak with him?<p>

Bruce and Alfred had been acting weird all day. They kept looking around expectantly as if they were waiting for something to happen. The doorbell ringing drew him from his thoughts. He looked to the older men waiting for one of them to get up, "Don't worry I've got it." He said sarcastically and moved toward the door.

Wally was standing on the other end looking nervous, "Hey man." He mumbled.

"Hey." He said inviting Wally in.

"So I haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah..."

Something shifted in Wally and he started pushing Dick towards his room. "Alright man let's talk this out." He said pushing him down on his bed.

"Ok."

"Are you mad at me?"

"Nope, you mad at me?"

"Never."

"So we're cool."

"Yup. But why were we avoiding each other?" Wally asked sitting next to him. "I stopped calling when you stopped answering."

"Ok point taken."

"Were you mad at me?"

"I tried to be. I thought it was a huge mistake leaving me with the breathing thing so I wasn't affected by the gas. But then I realised I was just mad at myself for getting us caught."

"Dude there was nothing either of us could have done. I was hoping that since he didn't plan for you that you'd have a better chance than me."

"I know."

"And I wanted to keep you away from him and everything like him. He's a fucking psycho and I didn't want you exposed to it."

"I couldn't but you could?"

"I've had better practice. Batman has trained me to deal with Gotham villains."

"That is true. No place has villains half as scary as Gotham villains. But dude it wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't yours either." He said looking away.

"Ok so it wasn't our fault, you're not mad at me and I'm not mad at you. The only thing left to talk about is the team. Why haven't you come back?"

This is what Dick had wanted to avoid, "You were there for my little freak out. Did you see the looks on their faces?"

"Yup, I definitely saw that. Can't take it back though so what's the plan cut them out or getting over it?"

Wally had a good point unfortunately, "Sometimes you're deep you know that?"

"I know just call me Kid Flash the deep."

"Right..."

They laughed until their stomachs hurt. Then Alfred fed them and Wally went home. Well he finally knew what Bruce and Alfred had been waiting for. They must have been in on it the whole time. He returned to the team the next day and after a few uncomfortable apologies and conversations everything was good.

Needless to say they were ok. There were still a few setbacks here and there but both Wally and he had some amazing support systems to get them through it. The joker did not break them and if they could make it through this no one would ever break them.

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><p>For those who didn't read Broken Hearts you should check it out it's a little longer than this and my first attempt at writing about Wally. Anyway for those who haven't I just wanted to mention that when I write other young justice fics they'll all take part after this long fic. So for example they'll have the scars they received from the Joker in other fics unless not mentioned. If I do that I'll put something in the first chapter explaining that there are references to this one. Anyway enough rambling I just wanted to thank everyone for following me through all 3 stories and for all the support I received. You guys are amazing!<p> 


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